Automatic masking of sensitive data

ABSTRACT

A masking system and method for automatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage is provided. The method includes the steps of identifying a location of the first user data of the first type of sensitive user information on the webpage, updating an initial path to the first user data to account for changes to the initial path detected in response to repeated visits to the webpage, wherein the updated initial path to the first user data is stored as a stable path, locating a second user data associated with a second type of sensitive user information on the webpage, by accessing a central database containing path information to a location of the second user data on the webpage, and masking the first user data and the second user data on the webpage, using the stable path and the path information obtained from the central database.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to systems and methods of automaticallymasking sensitive user information, and more specifically to embodimentsof a smart masking system for automatic masking of different types ofsensitive user data displayed on a webpage shared to a third party.

BACKGROUND

Software technical support typically requires a user to send ascreenshot or a video of a webpage to properly diagnose and troubleshootproblems. Similarly, software technicians use screenshots of webpagesfor educational purposes. The shared webpage screenshots often containsensitive user information that the user does not want to release to athird party.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a method, andassociated computer system and computer program product, forautomatically masking sensitive information on webpage. A processor of acomputing system obtains a first user data associated with a first typeof sensitive user information. A location of the first user data of thefirst type of sensitive user information on the webpage is identified,the location being stored as an initial path. The initial path to thefirst user data is updated to account for changes to the initial pathdetected in response to repeated visits to the webpage, wherein theupdated initial path to the first user data is stored as a stable path.A second user data associated with a second type of sensitive userinformation on the webpage is located, by accessing a central databasecontaining path information to a location of the second user data on thewebpage. The first user data and the second user data on the webpage, ismasked using the stable path and the path information obtained from thecentral database.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of smart masking system, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a webpage displaying sensitive userinformation of the first type of sensitive information and a second typeof sensitive user information, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of the webpage, wherein a location of afirst sensitive user data on the webpage has been identified, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of the webpage, wherein a location of asecond sensitive user data on the webpage has been identified, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5A depicts an embodiment of a path associated with a location ofsensitive user data on the webpage, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5B depicts an embodiment of a new path associated with the locationof the sensitive user data on the webpage, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5C depicts an embodiment of a stable path 230 associated with thelocation of the sensitive user data on the webpage 165, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram of a central database and a plurality ofcomputer devices, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram of a collaborative use of the pathinformation contained in the central database, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a webpage masking sensitive userinformation of the first type of sensitive information and a second typeof sensitive user information, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow chart of a method for automatically maskingsensitive user information on a webpage, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart of a step of the method for automaticallymasking sensitive user information on a webpage of FIG. 8, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system for the smartmasking system of FIGS. 1-7, capable of implementing methods forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage of FIGS.8-9, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts a cloud computing environment, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 depicts abstraction model layers, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Software support teams often require users to record the user's usage ofthe software to fix defects triggered in a scenario. The recorded usagemay be a screenshot or video of a user page containing sensitive userinformation that the user does not want shared. Current methods requirethe user or software support, before further sharing the webpage withsensitive user information, to mask the sensitive user informationmanually, or using a rule-based software application requiring presetrules for masking data to be entered by the user. For example, the useror software support team must use mosaic techniques to mask certain usersensitive information, or rely on current methodologies that detect aspecific data presentation format (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY), which is limited toprotecting sensitive user information that shares the specific format.In addition to being limiting, these techniques are time-consuming.

Thus, there is a need for automatically masking different types ofsensitive user information.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of smartmasking system 100, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. Embodiments of the smart masking system 100 may be a systemfor automatically masking different types of sensitive user information.The system 100 may be useful in situations where the user must share ascreenshot of a web-based program, secure webpage/website, personalwebpage, or a webpage or website containing sensitive user informationto a software technical support team for diagnosing problems andeffective troubleshooting. Further, embodiments of smart masking system100 may be useful for sharing for training and/or educational purposes.Embodiments of the smart masking system 100 may include a computingsystem 120. Embodiments of the computing system 120 may be a computersystem, a computer, a user computer, a mobile device, a mobile computingsystem, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, asmartphone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and the like.

Furthermore, embodiments of smart masking system 100 may include aninput mechanism 110, website server 111, user information database 112,and a central database 113, communicatively coupled to a computingsystem 120 of the smart masking system 100 over a network 107. A network107 may be the cloud. Further embodiments of network 107 may refer to agroup of two or more computer systems linked together. Network 107 maybe any type of computer network known by individuals skilled in the art.Examples of computer networks 107 may include a LAN, WAN, campus areanetworks (CAN), home area networks (HAN), metropolitan area networks(MAN), an enterprise network, cloud computing network (either physicalor virtual) e.g. the Internet, a cellular communication network such asGSM or CDMA network or a mobile communications data network. Thearchitecture of the computer network 107 may be a peer-to-peer networkin some embodiments, wherein in other embodiments, the network 107 maybe organized as a client/server architecture.

In some embodiments, the network 107 may further comprise, in additionto the computer system 120, a connection to one or more networkaccessible knowledge bases containing information of the user, networkrepositories or other systems connected to the network 107 that may beconsidered nodes of the network 107. In some embodiments, where thecomputing system 120 or network repositories allocate resources to beused by the other nodes of the network 107, the computer system 120 andnetwork repository may be referred to as servers.

The network repository 114 may be a data collection area on the network107 which may back up and save all the data transmitted back and forthbetween the nodes of the network 107. For example, the networkrepository 114 may be a data center saving and cataloging userpreferences or permissions allowed, granted, and/or simulated regardingtypes of sensitive personal information that the user considerssensitive, to generate both historical and predictive reports regardinga particular user. In some embodiments, a data collection center housingthe network repository 114 may include an analytic module capable ofanalyzing each piece of data being stored by the network repository 114.Further, the computer system 120 may be integrated with or as a part ofthe data collection center housing the network repository. In somealternative embodiments, the network repository may be a localrepository that is connected to the computer system 120.

Further, embodiments of the computing system 120 may include an I/Ointerface 150, which may enable any communication process performedbetween the computer system 120 and the environment outside of thecomputer system 120. Input to the computing system 120 may enable thesignals or instructions sent to the computing system 120, for exampleinformation provided by the user to the computing system 120, whileoutput may enable the signals sent out from the computer system 120.Embodiments of the I/O interface 150 may also be connected to thecomputing system 120 over a network, such as network 107.

Referring still to FIG. 1, embodiments of the computing system 120 mayreceive sensitive user data via I/O interfaces 150. Input devices orinput mechanisms associated with the I/O interfaces 150 may be atouchscreen of a mobile device. Other inputs may be used to collect userdata or preferences, such as one or more connected microphonespositioned nearby the user or a built-in microphone of the user's mobiledevice to allow voice-commands, a keyboard, a webcam, mouse, touchpad,stylus, and the like, or other peripheral devices connected to thecomputing system 120 over the network 107 or via Bluetooth, IR, or othershort range communication networks.

Embodiments of the computer system 120 may be equipped with a memorydevice 142 which may store the user selections, and a processor 141 forimplementing the tasks associated with the smart masking system 100. Insome embodiments, a masking application 130 may be loaded in the memory142 of the computer system 120. The computing system 120 may furtherinclude an operating system, which can be a computer program forcontrolling an operation of the computing system 120, whereinapplications loaded onto the computing device 120 may run on top of theoperating system to provide various functions.

Furthermore, embodiments of computer system 120 may include the maskingapplication 130. Embodiments of the masking application 130 may be aninterface, an application, a program, or a combination of modules. In anexemplary embodiment, the masking application 130 may be a browserplug-in.

The masking application 130 of the computing system 120 may include auser data acquisition module 131, a location identifying module 132, apath updating module 133, a collaborative module 134, and a maskingmodule 135. A “module” may refer to a hardware based module, softwarebased module or a module may be a combination of hardware and software.Embodiments of hardware based modules may include self-containedcomponents such as chipsets, specialized circuitry and one or morememory devices, while a software-based module may be part of a programcode or linked to the program code containing specific programmedinstructions, which may be loaded in the memory device of the computersystem 120. A module (whether hardware, software, or a combinationthereof) may be designed to implement or execute one or more particularfunctions or routines.

Embodiments of the user data acquisition module 131 may include one ormore components of hardware and/or software program code for obtaining afirst user data associated with a first type of sensitive userinformation. Embodiments of a first type of sensitive user/businessinformation may be sensitive personal/business confidential informationthat can be distinctively displayed on a webpage. The webpage displayingthe sensitive information may be a webpage of a website, such as asocial media website, wherein a user or business must log-in to accessthe contents and/or view of the displayed sensitive information.Further, embodiments of the webpage may be a webpage of a web-based orcloud-based software program that requires the user or business entityemployees to log in, securely or otherwise, to access and/or view thesensitive information.

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a webpage 165 displaying sensitive userinformation of the first type of sensitive information and a second typeof sensitive user information, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. The webpage 165 may be displayed on a display 160 ofthe computing system 120. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2,sensitive user data associated with the first type of sensitive userinformation is shown, including a name (i.e. John Smith), a birthday(i.e. Jan. 1, 1987), an email address (i.e. johnsmith@email.com), anaddress (i.e. 1 Best Road, City, State), a phone number (i.e.(555)-555-5555), and an employer (i.e. Acme, Inc.). The first type ofsensitive user data or business data may be personal to the user orconfidential to the business, and may also be identified by a locatorscanning the webpage based on the distinctiveness of the information.The distinctiveness of the data/information may refer to adistinctiveness or uniqueness as compared to other text or imagesdisplayed on the website. For example, a user's full name located on awebpage may be distinct and unique as compared to other text on thewebpage, such that the masking application 130 can identify and/orlocate a position of the user's full name on a webpage among other text,as described in greater detail infra. Embodiments of the first type ofsensitive user information may be a full name of the user, an address ofthe user, an employer of the user, a phone number of the user, a homephone number of the user, a mobile phone number of the user, a level ofeducation of the user, a social security number of the user, a bankaccount information of the user, an account number for various accountsof the user, including utilities, internet provider, televisionprovider, landscaping company, medical provider, insurance provider, andthe like. Embodiments of the first type of sensitive information mayalso be sensitive information of a business or entity, other than anindividual. For example, the first type of sensitive businessinformation may be a business address, a client list, vendorinformation, vendor contacts, business partners, executives of acompany, employee directory/profiles, organizational structure, emailaddresses, and the like.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, sensitive user dataassociated with the second type of sensitive user information is alsoshown, including a blood type (i.e. B) and an age (i.e. 30). The secondtype of sensitive user data or business data may be personal to the useror confidential to the business, but a locator may experience somedifficulty in identifying the data by scanning the webpage, based on alack of distinctiveness of the data/information. For example, while auser's full name located on a webpage may be distinct and unique ascompared to other text on the webpage, the capital letter “B” may beless distinct and unique, such that the masking application 130 may notbe able to confidently or accurately identify and/or locate a positionof the user's blood type on a webpage among other text, as described ingreater detail infra. In particular, the capital letter B is locatedtwice in the exemplary webpage 165, which means the masking application130 would have to perform additional checks and expend additionalcomputational resources to determine the position of the “B” thatcorresponds to the user's blood type. If a webpage has multipleparagraphs of text, locating the “B” by scanning the webpage may be evenmore difficult or complex. Embodiments of the second type of sensitiveinformation may be less distinctive, short, contain few characters,include a common phrase or letter, and the like. A specific example ofthe second type of sensitive user information may be a blood type of auser, an age of the user, eye color of the user, hair color of the user,height of the user, weight of the user, gender or sexual orientation ofthe user, and the like. Embodiments of the second type of sensitiveinformation may also be sensitive information of a business or entity,other than an individual.

Further, certain sensitive data/information may be associated with afirst type of sensitive information for one website, while beingassociated with the second type of sensitive data/information on anotherwebsite. For example, a layout, look, format, structure, text volume,and other features, characteristics, and functions of thewebsite/webpage may affect whether a user or business data is associatedwith the first or second type of sensitive data. Additionally, whether aposition of the user or business data displayed on the webpage can beidentified by scanning the webpage may be determinative of whether userdata is associated with the first or second type of sensitive user data.

Embodiments of the data acquisition module 131 may obtain, receive,access, pull, locate, etc., a first user data (e.g. a full name of auser) from an information source. Embodiments of the information sourcemay be a remote storage device, such as information database 112, or alocal storage device, such as data repository 125, browser cache, andthe like. In an exemplary embodiment, the first user data may beobtained from a browser cache running on computing system 120, whereinthe browser uses autofill functions. For example, users of computingdevice 120 may input the users' personal information into a particularwebsite or webpage. A browser equipped with an autofill application maysave the users' personal information as the user data is entered for aparticular data field, and then the browser running the autofillapplication may automatically populate a data field with the user'spersonal information previously manually entered by the user.Accordingly, the user's personal information/data that is saved in abrowser's cache may be accessed by the data acquisition module 131 todetermine and/or obtain a first user data, such as a name of the user.In other embodiments, the user's personal information that is enteredand saved as a function of the autofill process may be stored in thedata repository 125 of the computing system 120 in addition to beingsaved in the browser's cache. Embodiments of the data acquisition module131 may access and/or query the data repository 125, or other storagemediums coupled to the computing system 120 to obtain user or businessdata, associated with the first type of sensitive information.

Additionally, sensitive user or business information may be received bythe computing system 120 from other sources or techniques. In oneembodiment, the computing system 120 may receive or otherwise obtainsensitive data via I/O interface 150. For instance, a spreadsheet ofvendor names may be loaded onto the computing system 120 via a USBdrive. In another embodiment, the computing system 120 may receivesensitive data/information from an input mechanism 110 coupled to thecomputing system 120 over network 107. Embodiments of an input mechanism111 may be a wearable device, a smart watch, a mobile phone, a sensor, adedicated computing chip that stores medical and personal data relatingto a person, or other input devices or sensors that may transmitsensitive user or business data to the computing system 120.Accordingly, embodiments of the data acquisition module 131 may obtainsensitive user or business data associated with a first type ofsensitive information from one or more information sources. The dataacquisition module 131 may obtain the sensitive user or business data sothat the masking application 130 knows which displayed data to belocated on the webpage and eventually masked.

Referring back to FIG. 1, embodiments of the computing system 120 mayfurther include a location identification module 132. Embodiments of thelocation identification module 132 may include one or more components ofhardware and/or software program code for identifying a location of thefirst user data of the first type of sensitive user information on thewebpage. For instance, the location identification module 132 may locateor otherwise identify a location or a position of the first user data onthe webpage, the first user data being obtained by the data acquisitionmodule 131 so the location identification module 132 knows whattext/data/information to search for on the webpage. FIG. 3 depicts anembodiment of the webpage 165, wherein a location of a first sensitiveuser data on the webpage 165 has been identified, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. By scanning the webpage 165, thelocation identifying module 132 may determine a precise location orpositioning of the user data being displayed on the webpage 165. In theexample depicted by FIG. 3, a positioning of the user data “John Smith”has been identified, which is a name of the user. FIG. 4 depicts anembodiment of the webpage 165, wherein a location of a second sensitiveuser data on the webpage 165 has been identified, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. By scanning the webpage 165, thelocation identifying module 132 may determine a precise location orpositioning of additional user data being displayed on the webpage 165.In the example depicted by FIG. 4, a positioning of the user data “1Best Road, City, State” has been identified, which is an address of theuser. The user data fields may be scanned and located simultaneously orsequentially.

Furthermore, the location of the sensitive user data can be stored as aninitial path. FIG. 5A depicts an embodiment of a path 210 associatedwith a location of sensitive user data on the webpage 165, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. For example, the locationidentification module 132 may find the location, which may thendetermine a directory and eventually a path name associated with theuser data being displayed, at that location on the website. The pathsmay be a CSS path or X path. The path name may then be stored as theinitial path 210, which allows the masking application 130 to know, inaddition to the fact that the user data identified is sensitiveinformation (i.e. from the data acquisition module 131 obtaining thesensitive information), the precise location where masking should occuron the particular website. The initial path 210 may be stored locally onthe computing system 120 or may be stored on a remote server or othercomputer readable storage device coupled to the computing system 120.

Embodiments of the computing system 120 may further include a pathupdating module 133. Embodiments of the path updating module 133 mayinclude one or more components of hardware and/or software program codefor updating the initial path to the first user data to account forchanges to an initial path detected in response to repeated visits tothe webpage. For instance, each time a user visits the webpage, thelocation identification module 132 may locate the sensitive user dataand obtain a new path to the sensitive data, as described above. The newpath(s) may differ from the initial path, and may also be stored. Forexample, the new paths may include additional values (e.g. numbers) inthe path name, which may not be present in the initial path. In someembodiments, the additional or new value may be attributed to a timedifference between when the initial path was determined and when the newpath was determined by the masking application 130. If a user visits awebpage at a later point in time, values in the path associated with thelocation of the sensitive user data may be added or inserted to reflectthe different times the webpage was visited. FIG. 5B depicts anembodiment of a new path 220 associated with the location of thesensitive user data on the webpage 165, in accordance with embodimentsof the present invention. New path 220 may include new values 225 (i.e.shown in boxes for ease of viewing). Embodiments of the new values 225may be numerical values, integers, the like, that may represent a changefrom the initial path, such as a time difference. However, the presenceof the new values 225 may increase a probability that the actuallocation as associated with the initial path will be inaccurate, orotherwise faulty. Thus, embodiments of the path updating module 133 maybe referred to as a trainer because each website or webpage may betrained by the path updating module 133 by eliminating or replacing thenew values to arrive at a stable path, which may be a path that isstable and resistant to the changes due to time differences resultingfrom repeated visits to webpages.

FIG. 5C depicts an embodiment of a stable path 230 associated with thelocation of the sensitive user data on the webpage 165, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. For instance each of the newvalues 225 may be eliminated and/or replaced by a token value 235. Atoken value 235 may be represented by a character, such as an asterisk,and may be a placeholder or token character such that each new pathresembles the previous new path, arriving at the stable path 230. Thetoken value 235 is not concerned with numbers, and can be used toreplace the numbers so that the newest paths become more and more alike,which can be read by the computing system 120 to accurately providelocation information of the sensitive date on the webpage 165.Accordingly, embodiments of the update module 133 updates the initialpath to arrive at a stable path, which may be used more confidently toprovide location information of the sensitive user data displayed on thewebpage 165 because the stable path 230 can be resistant to changes tothe paths resulting from accessing a webpage at a different time. Thestable path 230 may be stored by the computing system 120.

With reference again to FIG. 1, embodiments of the computing system 120may also include a collaborative module 134. Embodiments of thecollaborative module 134 may include one or more components of hardwareand/or software program code for locating a second user data associatedwith a second type of sensitive user information on the webpage 165. Forinstance, embodiments of the collaborative module 134 may access acentral database 113 containing path information to a location of thesecond user data for a given webpage. FIG. 6A is a block diagram of acentral database 113 and a plurality of computer devices 110 a, 110 b,110 c . . . 110 n, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. Embodiments of the central database 113 may be a central hub,a central repository, a cloud database, a cloud server a data pool, aserver, multiple servers, a shared hash pool, and the like. In anexemplary embodiment, the central database 113 may be a cloud storagedevice(s), configured to receive path information from the computingdevices 110 a, 110 b, 110 c . . . 110 n. Embodiments of the centraldatabase 113 may be located in the network 107, such as a cloudcomputing network. Embodiments of the central database 113 may beaccessible by the computing system 120 over network 107. A network 107may be the cloud. Embodiments of the computing devices 110 a, 110 b, 110c . . . 110 n may be a mobile device, a mobile computing device, asmartphone, a tablet, a cellular phone, desktop computer, laptopcomputer, or other computing device, operated by other usersvisiting/accessing the webpage 165. Each of the computing devices 110 a,110 b, 110 c . . . 110 n may store or otherwise transmit pathinformation associated with the second type of sensitive data forvarious webpages, wherein the computing devices 110 a, 110 b, 110 c . .. 110 n have previously identified the location of the second type ofsensitive on a particular website, using techniques described herein, orother methods, such as manual methods or rule-based softwareapplications. The path information may be automatically sent to thecentral database 113 in response to the detection or determination ofpath information.

Thus, embodiments of collaborative module 134 may locate a position ofthe second type of sensitive information on a webpage by accessing thecentral database 113 to learn the path information, as opposed to, forexample, scanning the webpage as described above. The correct pathinformation entry retrieved from the central database 113 may bediscovered by narrowing down possible path information entries that areclose to an intersection of the second type of sensitive user data,determined by scanning the webpage. In other embodiments, the correctpath entry may be retrieved from the central database 113 based onwebsite information and known data field locations on the website. Thepaths obtained from the central database 113 may be stored along withthe initial paths and the stable paths, either locally or remotely. Thecentral database 113 being accessible by the collaborative module 134may allow for an exchange of paths anonymously with other online usersto collaboratively confirm the paths are correct for less-distinctiveuser or business sensitive information. FIG. 6B is a block diagram of acollaborative use of the path information contained in the centraldatabase 113, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.In FIG. 6B, the central database 113 includes path information for bloodtype identification (i.e. A, B, AB). In the shared pool (i.e. centraldatabase 113), blood type A is found in path1 and path2; type B is foundin path2 and path3; type AB is found in path2 and path4. If the user ofthe computing system 120 has blood type A, the computing system 120 canleveraging information from the other users who are type B and AB tocalculate an intersection of the found paths to identify the correctpath, which is path2.

Further, embodiments of the collaborative module 134 may also utilizethe central database 113 to confirm an accuracy of a stable pathdetermined for more distinctive data (e.g. first type of sensitive data)obtained via scanning the webpage. For example, the masking application130 loaded on a user device may transmit path information detected byscanning a webpage to the central database 113 to be used by otheronline users for confirmation, etc., or to otherwise bypass the scanningstep. Likewise, other online users may transmit path informationdetected by scanning a webpage to the central database 113 to be used bythe computing system 120 for confirmation, etc., or to otherwise bypassthe scanning step.

To protect a privacy of online user data transmitted to the centraldatabase 113, each entry to the central database 113 may be hashed, suchthat the underlying data (e.g. users' blood type, etc.), may not behacked or otherwise unlawfully decrypted. The hashing of the entries tothe central database 113 may be hashed according to various encryptingtechniques. Moreover, each path information entry into the centraldatabase 113 may be assigned a timestamp, which can be useful formaintaining the central database 113 and ensuring that the database 113includes the most up-to-date path information. The central database 113may be maintained by analyzing the timestamp associated with a pathinformation entry, and removing old entries from the central database113. Further, embodiments of the central database 113 may be maintainedby removing path information that no longer corresponds to a correctlocation on the webpage, which may occur as the website adapts andchanges a layout, look, structure, etc. embodiments of the centraldatabase 113 may further be maintained by continuously receiving newpath information from other online users, and the reporting of incorrectpath information entries. Thus, embodiments of the central database 113may evolve with adapting and changing websites.

Referring back to FIG. 1, embodiments of the computing system 120 mayinclude a masking module 135. Embodiments of the masking module 135 mayinclude one or more components of hardware and/or software program codefor masking the first user data and the second user data on the webpage,using the stable path and the path information obtained from the centraldatabase 113. For instance, embodiments of the masking module 135perform masking operations to the sensitive user or businessinformation/data. The masking module 135 may know exactly where toemploy the masking operations on a website based on the paths obtainedby the masking application 130. The masking of different types ofsensitive information may be done automatically to the various datafields of a given website, in accordance with embodiments of the maskingapplication 130. Further, embodiments of the masking module 135 mayperform selective masking to various sensitive information fields on awebsite. The selection of which types of sensitive data is masked may bebased on user preferences stored in the data repository 125 thecomputing system or the website server 111.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a webpage masking sensitive userinformation of the first type of sensitive information and a second typeof sensitive user information, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. The masking module 135 may mask or otherwise distort,cover, block, screen, scramble, etc. sensitive user data, the locationof which may be precisely determined by the masking application 130. Inan exemplary embodiment, a user having a need for software technicalsupport has been sent a request to send a screenshot of the webpage 165.Before sending a screenshot or a video to the technical support team,the user may activate the masking application 130 (e.g. on/off toggle asa browser plug-in). In response to activation, the masking application130 may determine the paths to the sensitive user information pertainingat least to sensitive data associated with the first type (e.g.distinctive sensitive user information, unique text strings, etc.) byscanning the webpage 165, and may determine the paths to the sensitiveuser information pertaining to sensitive data associated with the secondtype (e.g. less-distinctive, generic text/characters, etc.) byleveraging a collaborative central database 113. The masking module 135of the masking application 135 may then perform masking operations atthose determined locations on the webpage 165. The masked version of thewebpage, for example as shown in FIG. 7, may be shared to a third party,such as the technical support team. Likewise, the technical support teammay utilize the smart masking system 100, in response to receivingshared unmasked webpage from a user.

Various tasks and specific functions of the modules of the computingsystem 120 may be performed by additional modules, or may be combinedinto other module(s) to reduce the number of modules. Further,embodiments of the computer or computer system 120 may comprisespecialized, non-generic hardware and circuitry (i.e., specializeddiscrete non-generic analog, digital, and logic based circuitry) for(independently or in combination) particularized for executing onlymethods of the present invention. The specialized discrete non-genericanalog, digital, and logic based circuitry may include proprietaryspecially designed components (e.g., a specialized integrated circuit,such as for example an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC),designed for only implementing methods of the present invention).Moreover, embodiments of the smart masking system 100 may improvecomputer technology, whereby automatically masking sensitive data forvarying types of sensitive information, utilizing webpage data collectedby several different devices to provide collaborative path information,which would have previously required manual masking or individualmachines having discrete, limiting software. Further technicaladvantages include auto detection of private data usage, pathremembering by the computing system 120 to automatically mask sensitiveinformation, no need for inputting rules to the software application,selective masking, and adaptive system to changing to websites.

Referring now to FIG. 8, which depicts a flow chart of a method 300 forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. One embodiment ofa method 300 or algorithm that may be implemented for automaticallymasking sensitive user information on a webpage in accordance with thesmart masking system 100 described in FIGS. 1-7 using one or morecomputer systems as defined generically in FIG. 10 below, and morespecifically by the specific embodiments of FIG. 1.

Embodiments of the method 300 for automatically masking sensitive userinformation on a webpage, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention may begin at step 301 wherein a first user data associatedwith a first type of sensitive data is obtained. The sensitive data maybe obtained from one or more information sources. Step 302 identifies alocation of the first user data on a webpage. For instance, variousscanning techniques may be used to determine a position of the firstuser data, which may allow a path to be determined. Step 303 stores theinitial path determined by the identifying. Step 304 updates the initialpath to obtain a stable path, which can be resistant to changes to thepath(s) over time, based on an access point in time of a particularwebsite by the user.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart of a step 304 of the method 300 forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage of FIG. 8,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. For instance,updating the initial path may begin at step 401 wherein a location of afirst user data on the webpage is identified upon a return visit to thewebpage. Step 402 compares the initial path with a new path to determinenew values, which may reflect a change in an access point in time of thewebpage by the user. Step 403 replaces the new values with a token valueto obtain a stable path resistant to changes due to time differencesbetween paths. Step 404 stores the stable path.

Referring back to FIG. 8, step 305 locates a second user data associatedwith a second type of sensitive data. For example, a central databasethat is collaboratively maintained may be accessed to determine pathinformation associated with the second user data. Step 306 masks thefirst user data and the second user data, to ensure a level of privacyfor user sensitive information before the webpage is shared to a thirdparty.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system for the smartmasking system of FIGS. 1-7, capable of implementing methods forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage of FIGS.8-9, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Thecomputer system 500 may generally comprise a processor 591, an inputdevice 592 coupled to the processor 591, an output device 593 coupled tothe processor 591, and memory devices 594 and 595 each coupled to theprocessor 591. The input device 592, output device 593 and memorydevices 594, 595 may each be coupled to the processor 591 via a bus.Processor 591 may perform computations and control the functions ofcomputer 500, including executing instructions included in the computercode 597 for the tools and programs capable of implementing a method forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage, in themanner prescribed by the embodiments of FIGS. 8-9 using the smartmasking system 100 of FIGS. 1-7, wherein the instructions of thecomputer code 597 may be executed by processor 591 via memory device595. The computer code 597 may include software or program instructionsthat may implement one or more algorithms for implementing the methodsfor automatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage, asdescribed in detail above. The processor 591 executes the computer code597. Processor 591 may include a single processing unit, or may bedistributed across one or more processing units in one or more locations(e.g., on a client and server).

The memory device 594 may include input data 596. The input data 596includes any inputs required by the computer code 597. The output device593 displays output from the computer code 597. Either or both memorydevices 594 and 595 may be used as a computer usable storage medium (orprogram storage device) having a computer readable program embodiedtherein and/or having other data stored therein, wherein the computerreadable program comprises the computer code 597. Generally, a computerprogram product (or, alternatively, an article of manufacture) of thecomputer system 500 may comprise said computer usable storage medium (orsaid program storage device).

Memory devices 594, 595 include any known computer readable storagemedium, including those described in detail below. In one embodiment,cache memory elements of memory devices 594, 595 may provide temporarystorage of at least some program code (e.g., computer code 597) in orderto reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storagewhile instructions of the computer code 597 are executed. Moreover,similar to processor 591, memory devices 594, 595 may reside at a singlephysical location, including one or more types of data storage, or bedistributed across a plurality of physical systems in various forms.Further, memory devices 594, 595 can include data distributed across,for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN).Further, memory devices 594, 595 may include an operating system (notshown) and may include other systems not shown in FIG. 10.

In some embodiments, the computer system 500 may further be coupled toan Input/output (I/O) interface and a computer data storage unit. An I/Ointerface may include any system for exchanging information to or froman input device 592 or output device 593. The input device 592 may be,inter alia, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. or in some embodiments thetouchscreen of a mobile device. The output device 593 may be, interalia, a printer, a plotter, a display device (such as a computerscreen), a magnetic tape, a removable hard disk, a floppy disk, etc. Thememory devices 594 and 595 may be, inter alia, a hard disk, a floppydisk, a magnetic tape, an optical storage such as a compact disc (CD) ora digital video disc (DVD), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), aread-only memory (ROM), etc. The bus may provide a communication linkbetween each of the components in computer 500, and may include any typeof transmission link, including electrical, optical, wireless, etc.

An I/O interface may allow computer system 500 to store information(e.g., data or program instructions such as program code 597) on andretrieve the information from computer data storage unit (not shown).Computer data storage unit includes a known computer-readable storagemedium, which is described below. In one embodiment, computer datastorage unit may be a non-volatile data storage device, such as amagnetic disk drive (i.e., hard disk drive) or an optical disc drive(e.g., a CD-ROM drive which receives a CD-ROM disk). In otherembodiments, the data storage unit may include a knowledge base or datarepository 125 as shown in FIG. 1.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, in a first embodiment,the present invention may be a method; in a second embodiment, thepresent invention may be a system; and in a third embodiment, thepresent invention may be a computer program product. Any of thecomponents of the embodiments of the present invention can be deployed,managed, serviced, etc. by a service provider that offers to deploy orintegrate computing infrastructure with respect to masking systems andmethods. Thus, an embodiment of the present invention discloses aprocess for supporting computer infrastructure, where the processincludes providing at least one support service for at least one ofintegrating, hosting, maintaining and deploying computer-readable code(e.g., program code 597) in a computer system (e.g., computer 500)including one or more processor(s) 591, wherein the processor(s) carryout instructions contained in the computer code 597 causing the computersystem to mask sensitive information. Another embodiment discloses aprocess for supporting computer infrastructure, where the processincludes integrating computer-readable program code into a computersystem including a processor.

The step of integrating includes storing the program code in acomputer-readable storage device of the computer system through use ofthe processor. The program code, upon being executed by the processor,implements a method for automatically masking sensitive user informationon a webpage. Thus, the present invention discloses a process forsupporting, deploying and/or integrating computer infrastructure,integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable codeinto the computer system 500, wherein the code in combination with thecomputer system 500 is capable of performing a method for automaticallymasking sensitive user information on a webpage.

A computer program product of the present invention comprises one ormore computer readable hardware storage devices having computer readableprogram code stored therein, said program code containing instructionsexecutable by one or more processors of a computer system to implementthe methods of the present invention.

A computer system of the present invention comprises one or moreprocessors, one or more memories, and one or more computer readablehardware storage devices, said one or more hardware storage devicescontaining program code executable by the one or more processors via theone or more memories to implement the methods of the present invention.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 11, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 includes one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A, 54B,54C and 54N shown in FIG. 11 are intended to be illustrative only andthat computing nodes 10 and cloud computing environment 50 cancommunicate with any type of computerized device over any type ofnetwork and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a webbrowser).

Referring now to FIG. 12, a set of functional abstraction layersprovided by cloud computing environment 50 (see FIG. 11) is shown. Itshould be understood in advance that the components, layers, andfunctions shown in FIG. 12 are intended to be illustrative only andembodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, thefollowing layers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and masking of sensitive information 96.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for automatically maskingsensitive user information on a webpage, the method comprising:obtaining, by a processor of a computing system, a first user dataassociated with a first type of sensitive user information; identifying,by the processor, a location of the first user data of the first type ofsensitive user information on the webpage, the location being stored asan initial path; updating, by the processor, the initial path to thefirst user data to account for changes to the initial path detected inresponse to repeated visits to the webpage, wherein the updated initialpath to the first user data is stored as a stable path; locating, by theprocessor, a second user data associated with a second type of sensitiveuser information on the webpage, by accessing a central databasecontaining path information to a location of the second user data on thewebpage; and masking, by the processor, the first user data and thesecond user data on the webpage, using the stable path and the pathinformation obtained from the central database.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the obtaining includes accessing an autofill database, theautofill database being a browser cache that contains the first type ofsensitive user information.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstuser data is identified by scanning the webpage.
 4. The method of claim1, further comprising maintaining, by the processor, the centraldatabase by: (i) analyzing a timestamp associated with a pathinformation entry and removing old entries from the central database,(ii) removing path information that no longer corresponds to a correctlocation on the webpage, and (iii) continuously receiving new pathinformation from other users.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecentral database is a shared pool of hashed data related to pathinformation for the second type of sensitive user information, such thatother users send path information pertaining to personal data of theother users data associated with the second type of sensitive userinformation, further wherein a privacy of the other user data isprotected by hashing the other user data and path information.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein updating the initial path to obtain thestable path comprises: additionally identifying, by the processor, thelocation of the first user data on the webpage based on a return visitto the webpage, and storing a new path; comparing, by the processor, theinitial path with the new path to determine a presence of new values inthe new path, which are not present in the initial path, the new valuesreflecting a time difference between an initial visit to the websitethat resulted in the initial path and the return visit to the webpage;replacing, by the processor, the new values in the new path with a tokenvalue, to obtain the stable path, which is resistant to the changes to apath of the first user data associated with the time difference.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second type of sensitive user informationis less distinctive and harder to locate on the webpage than the firsttype of sensitive user information.
 8. A computer system, comprising: aprocessor; a memory device coupled to the processor; and a computerreadable storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the storagedevice contains program code executable by the processor via the memorydevice to implement a method for automatically masking sensitive userinformation on a webpage, the method comprising: obtaining, by aprocessor of a computing system, a first user data associated with afirst type of sensitive user information; identifying, by the processor,a location of the first user data of the first type of sensitive userinformation on the webpage, the location being stored as an initialpath; updating, by the processor, the initial path to the first userdata to account for changes to the initial path detected in response torepeated visits to the webpage, wherein the updated initial path to thefirst user data is stored as a stable path; locating, by the processor,a second user data associated with a second type of sensitive userinformation on the webpage, by accessing a central database containingpath information to a location of the second user data on the webpage;and masking, by the processor, the first user data and the second userdata on the webpage, using the stable path and the path informationobtained from the central database.
 9. The computer system of claim 8,wherein the obtaining includes accessing an autofill database, theautofill database being a browser cache that contains the first type ofsensitive user information.
 10. The computer system of claim 8, whereinthe first user data is identified by scanning the webpage.
 11. Thecomputer system of claim 8, further comprising maintaining, by theprocessor, the central database by: (i) analyzing a timestamp associatedwith a path information entry and removing old entries from the centraldatabase, (ii) removing path information that no longer corresponds to acorrect location on the webpage, and (iii) continuously receiving newpath information from other users.
 12. The computer system of claim 8,wherein the central database is a shared pool of hashed data related topath information for the second type of sensitive user information, suchthat other users send path information pertaining to personal data ofthe other users data associated with the second type of sensitive userinformation, further wherein a privacy of the other user data isprotected by hashing the other user data and path information.
 13. Thecomputer system of claim 8, wherein updating the initial path to obtainthe stable path comprises: additionally identifying, by the processor,the location of the first user data on the webpage based on a returnvisit to the webpage, and storing a new path; comparing, by theprocessor, the initial path with the new path to determine a presence ofnew values in the new path, which are not present in the initial path,the new values reflecting a time difference between an initial visit tothe website that resulted in the initial path and the return visit tothe webpage; replacing, by the processor, the new values in the new pathwith a token value, to obtain the stable path, which is resistant to thechanges to a path of the first user data associated with the timedifference.
 14. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the second typeof sensitive user information is less distinctive and harder to locateon the webpage than the first type of sensitive user information.
 15. Acomputer program product, comprising a computer readable hardwarestorage device storing a computer readable program code, the computerreadable program code comprising an algorithm that when executed by acomputer processor of a computing system implements a method forautomatically masking sensitive user information on a webpage, themethod comprising: obtaining, by a processor of a computing system, afirst user data associated with a first type of sensitive userinformation; identifying, by the processor, a location of the first userdata of the first type of sensitive user information on the webpage, thelocation being stored as an initial path; updating, by the processor,the initial path to the first user data to account for changes to theinitial path detected in response to repeated visits to the webpage,wherein the updated initial path to the first user data is stored as astable path; locating, by the processor, a second user data associatedwith a second type of sensitive user information on the webpage, byaccessing a central database containing path information to a locationof the second user data on the webpage; and masking, by the processor,the first user data and the second user data on the webpage, using thestable path and the path information obtained from the central database.16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the obtainingincludes accessing an autofill database, the autofill database being abrowser cache that contains the first type of sensitive userinformation.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15, furthercomprising maintaining, by the processor, the central database by: (i)analyzing a timestamp associated with a path information entry andremoving old entries from the central database, (ii) removing pathinformation that no longer corresponds to a correct location on thewebpage, and (iii) continuously receiving new path information fromother users.
 18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein thecentral database is a shared pool of hashed data related to pathinformation for the second type of sensitive user information, such thatother users send path information pertaining to personal data of theother users data associated with the second type of sensitive userinformation, further wherein a privacy of the other user data isprotected by hashing the other user data and path information.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, wherein updating the initial pathto obtain the stable path comprises: additionally identifying, by theprocessor, the location of the first user data on the webpage based on areturn visit to the webpage, and storing a new path; comparing, by theprocessor, the initial path with the new path to determine a presence ofnew values in the new path, which are not present in the initial path,the new values reflecting a time difference between an initial visit tothe website that resulted in the initial path and the return visit tothe webpage; replacing, by the processor, the new values in the new pathwith a token value, to obtain the stable path, which is resistant to thechanges to a path of the first user data associated with the timedifference.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein thesecond type of sensitive user information is less distinctive and harderto locate on the webpage than the first type of sensitive userinformation.